Fire & Ice - A Draco Malfoy fanfiction

Chapter 39 - The daisies that sprout between the sidewalk cracks

Don't be distracted by the views of others: focus on what engages and inspires you. The most exhilarating experiences are generated in the mind, triggered by information that challenges our thinking. If you're excited by a subject that no one else is, all that should matter to you is that you're interested. Revolutionary thinkers who create totally new ideas are driven by their interests, not whether or not others are interested too.

- Rod Judkins

The rest of the month May went by in a blur of books, library visits and a little bit of Draco here and there. The O.W.L.'s were fast approaching and although I had prepared well throughout the year, twelve courses were quite a lot to prepare for.

Next year, I would enter my N.E.W.T. years, meaning that the amount of classes would be cut down majorly and I could choose which classes to take, but first there were the O.W.L.'s.

I had given myself a strict planning to get everything done, but one day in June was almost free of studying and reading, the fifth of June.

The fifth of June was a Wednesday, meaning that we had the afternoon off since we had Astronomy at midnight. It was also our last day of classes to give us some free days to study for the exams that would start next week.

Draco and I were still very private with whatever we had going on, but when I saw him that morning, I needed to talk to him, even for just a little while.

"Good morning birthday boy", I smiled, pulling his attention away from the book he was reading. "Let me be the first one to congratulate you on this wonderful day."

"Morning", he said, clearly not the biggest fan of his own birthday. "You're late though, Pansy Parkinson beat you to it", he smirked, taking my hand and pulling me down on the couch with him.

"Urgh, that stupid dog", I grunted, pulling my feet up.

"She even gave me a little present", he chuckled, pulling a tie pin out of his pocket. It was another snake, guarding the letter P, made out of a green gemstone.

"Oh you're not wearing that", I said snatching it from his hand. "Who does she think she is?"

"Are you jealous, Ellie?" Draco smirked, poking my side.

"No, I'm not, it's just hideous", I protested, crossing my arms. Draco chuckled and put his hand on my knee, stroking it gently. "Besides, my present for you is way better."

"You got me a present?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"I did, but you're going to have to wait until after lunch because if we don't hurry to breakfast right now, we're going to miss Transfiguration.

"I can think of a few things that are more enjoyable than Transfiguration", he smirked. I rolled my eyes and pulled him off the couch.

"Where are your side pieces at anyway?" he asked, noticing the absence of Tracey and Daphne.

"Side pieces? Rude", I chuckled.

"What? It's true, they're just accessories to the main attraction", he whispered, a smug smirk on his face when he pulled away again. He was so ... so smooth.

DRACO'S POV

I had feared that being around Eleanor more would affect my reputation in a bad way, making me seem soft, but it was quite the opposite actually. There was just something about the Malfoy Selwyn combination that made eye contact a very mighty weapon. No one dared to stare and if I did make eye contact with someone, they looked away so hastily, as if that one look could kill them. And I quite enjoyed that power.